Tickets2018 AARON'S AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 seed CINCINNATI (27-4) vs. No. 9 seed SMU (17-15)
SERIES INFO: 15th meeting; Cincinnati leads 9-5 overall; SMU leads 2-0 at neutral sites.
Cincinnati leads 7-0 at home; SMU leads 3-2 in Dallas
STREAK: Cincinnati - 2
2017-18 MEETINGS: Cincinnati won 76-56 in Highland Heights, Ky. (Jan. 7) and 76-51 in Dallas (Feb. 11)
Tim Jankovich is in his second season at SMU (55-20); 11th season overall (212-141)
Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (263-139); 15th season overall (332-163)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (MARCH 5): Cincinnati (8/8); UConn (--/--); SMU (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN2; Kevin Brown provides play-by-play with color analyst John Thompson III
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By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
ORLANDO – The question for SMU coach Tim Jankovich was about having to play the University of Cincinnati Bearcats for the third time this season, but first he took a little detour, launching into a discourse about all the adversity his team has endured this season.
When he was finished, he was reminded by the moderator of the post-game press conference, that he hadn't answered the question.
"That was my way of avoiding the question," Jankovich said. "You were supposed to forget and then we were going to get onto something else."
Jankovich was kidding, of course. The truth is that after a regular season that saw the Mustangs lose three players for the season to injuries, he and his players are just happy to still be playing and will relish the opportunity to face the eighth-ranked Bearcats again after losing to them twice this season, 76-56 at BB&T Arena and 75-51 in Dallas.
Despite being limited to seven scholarship players, No. 9 seed SMU built a 19-point halftime lead over No. 8 seed Connecticut on Thursday, then held off a furious UConn comeback that saw the Huskies chop the deficit to four points with 31 seconds left and escaped with an 80-73 victory at Amway Center in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament getting 23 points from Ben Emelogu and 21 from Akoy Agau.
The Mustangs (17-15) will face No. 1 seed UC (27-4) at noon Friday in the tournament quarterfinals.
"SMU's been through a lot," said UC coach Mick Cronin, who on Thursday was named The Sporting News Coach of the Year. "No team's been through more injuries than they have this year. They've had to reinvent themselves on the fly. They're a zone defensive team so we're going to have to get ready for that. They present problems. They've still got talented guys and they've got some veteran guys. You're facing a team in a one-and-out situation. We're going to have to make sure we're ready to play."
UC and SMU played last year in the AAC Tournament final with SMU winning, 71-56, in Hartford.
"Cincinnati's a great, great team," Jankovich said. "I have tons of respect for them as we did last year. It's the same guys basically. They didn't lose very much. So we know them very well. But just because you know them well doesn't make it easier to play them. I hope they make a humongous run in the NCAA Tournament regardless of the outcome in this tournament. We'll have to play an incredible game but we're going to tighten them up and give it our best shot."
UC clinched the AAC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with a hard-fought 62-61 win at Wichita State on Sunday. The Bearcats then took two days off before returning to practice Wednesday. After practice, they boarded their charter flight and headed south.
"This time of year you're trying to make sure your guys have energy," Cronin said. "I think conditioning and execution are the two most important things. We won't beat each other up. October is different. You're beating each other up. You're developing toughness. If we haven't developed toughness by now we need to go see the wizard."
SMU will carry a seven-game AAC Tournament winning streak into this game. The Mustangs have basically been operating on fumes ever since Jan. 28 when guard Shake Milton, the pre-season conference Player of the Year, suffered a broken bone in his right hand. He hasn't played since. SMU had gone 1-8 without him until its win over UConn.
Unlike UC, the Mustangs must win this tournament to get into the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats, who have won four straight, are projected as a No. 2 seed. It's doubtful they could move up to a No. 1 by winning this tournament. Still, the players say they're motivated to add another title to their collection.
"It's not enough to just win the regular-season conference so now we can just be happy," said senior forward Gary Clark, who was named the AAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year this week. "We want to get another championship. Why not? We won't have this same team next year. While we have this group of guys locked in, keep winning. Win as much as you can."
Cronin wants to win the tournament, too, but he's also interested in making sure his team continues to improve as it heads into its eighth straight NCAA Tournament with what appears to be the highest seed for a UC team since the 2002 Bearcats were seeded No. 1 in the West Region. One of the things Cronin is focused on is getting more touches for Clark, who averages 12.8 points and has become the primary target of every opposing defense.
"I've got to get him the ball more," Cronin said. "Wichita State did a great job of trying to deny him the ball. People double team him. I've got to find a way to make sure that he doesn't get taken out of our offense. That could get you beat."
SMU narrowly avoided yet another injury when Agau twisted his right ankle late in the UConn game. He hobbled into the post-game press conference with the ankle packed in ice, but said he'd be ready for UC. With four players having played 33 minutes or more against the Huskies, SMU would seem to be at a huge disadvantage against the deeper Bearcats, especially having to play two days in a row.
"They're really good defensively," Agau said. "But I think if we do what we did today, if you take away a few lapses that we had, I think we'll have a really good chance. It's hard to beat a team three times."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.